Back in Narnia
by Tina101
Summary: Um....see the title...the Pevensie's are back in Narnia, but with Susan's best friend. Romance, general, evil centaurs...sequel on the way!


_Back in Narnia_

**A/N: **The italics are a flashback. I just thought that they would be cool to add. Look out for a sequel in a week or two!

Susan's friend, Karen, had joined Susan and her siblings on a trip during their Christmas vacation. The four siblings had seemed very excited about visiting Professor Kirk, but Karen couldn't figure out why. Sure, the Professor had taken them in during the London Blitz, but most kids just forgot about the family that took them in. Karen thought about that as she looked for the spare room Ms. MacReady had told her about. She had left her coat at home, and they were all about to go play in the snow. Karen was also thinking about the unusual fight Peter and Edmund had had earlier that day. She couldn't remember how it had started, but she did remember how it had ended.

_"You're not King here, Peter, so stop acting like it!" Edmund yelled at the top of his lungs. Karen couldn't understand what it meant, but everyone else in the room did._

_"Ed! Watch what you say!" Peter shot back. _

_Edmund stormed out of the room, muttering, "Magnificent. Magnificent! What was he thinking? He's nothing more than an oversized cat for all I care!" Right before Karen had left on her search for a coat, she saw Susan talking to Edmund. She was being very gesticulate, and seemed to be using a stern tone with Edmund, even though Karen couldn't hear what she was saying. Edmund was looking at the ground, shaking his head. _

_Right before she left, she heard Susan say, "Remember what Professor Kirk said, Ed. You have to be careful. We're different, and you need to keep that under wraps. Imagine if people found out. What would happen to our friends and those who have done more than their share to help us get the thrones? What would happen to them? You don't think; you just act! _Karen also remembered the unusual fight that had happened between Peter, Susan, and Edmund the night before.

_Lucy came running out of Edmund's room where she and her brother had been talking for quite some time. She was crying, and yelling at him. Peter and Susan immediately hushed her, so Ms. MacReady and the Professor wouldn't think something was really wrong, and come running._

_"Edmund, he, he, played me a song. You know the kind that you told him he wasn't allowed to play. He did it just to get me mad too!" she cried. Susan and Peter looked at each, and then stormed off to Edmund's room. Karen went back to her book, but couldn't help overhearing parts of the argument._

_"Ed! We told you about this! You know how upset you can get Lucy! It's bad enough that her best friend did that to her, but her brother? You don't think!" Susan said sternly._

_"You know what I have to say? You were all horribly named! Gentle? Magnificent? Yeah, great job," Edmund replied._

_"Do you know what 'Just' means, Ed?" Peter asked. "It means 'fair and honorable in your actions', and right now, you're not acting a thing like that."_

_"Well, too bad for me. It seems like Lucy's the only one who lives up to her name. We have a problem now," spat Edmund. Before he could say anything else, Peter stormed out of the room. Karen looked back to her book, but was thinking about what they had said. Names? What did they mean by living up to their names? And what had Edmund played that had gotten Lucy so upset? She thought to herself._

Karen reached the room, and opened the door. On the far wall was a large wardrobe. Karen opened the door, and began to look for a coat her own size.

"How deep is this wardrobe?" she said to herself when she didn't hit the wooden back of the wardrobe. Suddenly, a few small, sharp needles poked her hand. Confused, Karen grabbed hold of the needles, and pulled. They were pine needles, and they had still been attached to the branch when she pulled on them! She couldn't believe it! In her hand were five or six pine needles that had been alive just moments before. Karen ran off to find Susan, and tell her about her discovery.

Karen ran full-on into Lucy in the hallway. Lucy had on a thick fur coat over her plaid skirt and black sweater.

"Karen!" she exclaimed. "What's the matter?" Gasping for air, Karen opened her hand.

"I found these attached to a branch. Well, I think they were attached to a branch, I couldn't tell. Anyway, it was in the big wardrobe in the spare room upstairs. I was looking for a coat." Lucy took the pine needles, and held them in her hand.

"Narnia," she breathed.

"Narnia? What's a Narnia?" Ignoring Karen's question, Lucy ran off to find Peter, and show him what Karen had found.

Peter was reading a book while waiting for everyone to get their coats, when Lucy came pounding into the room.

"Peter, Peter! Karen found these in the upstairs wardrobe! Look, its Narnia!" she exclaimed, jumping on top of her brother.

"Lucy, Lucy, calm down!" Peter said, calming Lucy down. "These could be some pine needles stuck to a coat from last winter."

"_Or_ it could be Narnia."

"What about Narnia/" Susan asked as she came into the room, forgetting momentarily about her friend. Karen was starting to become even more confused.

"Lucy thinks that the wardrobe's opened back up to Narnia, because Karen found some pine needles in the back of it," Edmund said in a bored tone from the corner.

"Then why don't we go and look?" Susan asked. Peter closed his book.

"You heard what the Professor said. It'll open back up when it's ready," he said.

"Maybe they need us! Come on, Peter! Can we just try?" Susan asked. Peter rolled his eyes.

"Come on," he said, but then he stopped. "What about Karen?" Everyone looked at Susan's friend. Susan took her hand.

"No matter what you see here, do you swear not to tell a soul?" she asked her friend.

"I guess so," replied Karen. Susan then pulled Karen towards the spare room.

Everyone ran to the spare room as fast as they could. They didn't care about the amount of noise they were making. All they really cared about was getting back to Narnia. All five stopped outside the wardrobe.

"Lucy, do you want to go first?" Peter asked his baby sister. Lucy nodded enthusiastically.

"Why does Lucy get to go first?" demanded Edmund.

"Because she's the one that found Narnia. Now, unless you don't want to go at all, I'd highly recommend that you stop moping!" Peter replied sternly.

Lucy climbed into the wardrobe, and made her way past the fur coats. There, at the far end was light! Lucy let out a squeal of delight.

"It's here! It's really here!" she announced. Peter helped everyone else into the wardrobe, and cracked the door behind him. Lucy slid past the trees, and found herself back in Narnia. She walked slowly to the lit lamppost that marked the boundaries of Narnia.

She heard Karen ask, "What is this place?" and smiled. Peter came up behind her, and began to pull the vines off the lamppost.

"There," he said. "Doesn't that look better?" Lucy nodded.

"It looks the same. What could be wrong? There has to be a reason as to why we're back," said Edmund as they looked around. Nobody knew _why_ the wardrobe had let them back.

A rustling noise in the bushes drew everyone's attention. A small brown rabbit came out of the bushes, and right up to Peter.

"Aww…what a cute rabbit!" Karen exclaimed.

"Shh!" Lucy ordered.

"Your Highnesses," the rabbit said, bowing it's head. Karen's eyes got as round as saucers as she watched Peter and the rabbit talk. "Aslan is on the move again. He knew you were coming, and wishes to meet you at the Camp near the Stone Table."

"How are we going to get there?" Susan asked him. "We need to get our belongings at Cair Paravel, and that's at one end of Narnia while the Stone Table is at the other. We'll have to go to the castle first."

"Oh, no. There's no time. There's a centaur that thinks that you all aren't coming back, and he wants to become King! You _must_ get to the Stone Table before he takes Narnia by force!"

"Then how do we get our belongings?" Edmund asked.

"The trees," said Lucy. "We could send a message through the trees to Cair Paravel, and they could tell someone at the castle what we need."

Peter shrugged. "It's worth a try," he said. He then turned to the trees, and used a very strong voice. "Dwellers of the forest! Your King, Peter the Magnificent, calls upon you for the most urgent of business!" The branches rustles, and before them was a woman made of leaves. The figure bowed.

"My liege," it said. "What service can I do for you?"

"What's going on here?" Karen asked Susan.

Susan replied, "I'll explain in a minute. I promise." Peter had finished talking to the tree, and the figure had blown away.

"I guess we have some explaining to do to Karen," Edmund said as everyone sat down on the grass while they waited.

"It all began when Lucy was hiding in the wardrobe during a game of hide and seek," Susan began. Each sibling took turns telling the story of how they had come to be Kings and Queens of Narnia.

"So you all are Kings and Queens of this magical land, and now some talking centaur wants to take the throne from all just because you haven't been here in a few years?" exclaimed Karen.

"For the most part," Lucy replied. The sound of hoof beats got everyone's attention. Five stallions came through the forest, and stopped at the clearing. Four of them had red velvet bags attached to their saddles. All the horses bowed their heads in respect to their rulers. Peter, Edmund, Susan, and Lucy all went to their horses, and removed the bags.

"Karen, have you ever ridden a horse?" Susan asked as she removed her bow and quiver from her bag. On the bottom of each bag was an oak box. Inside, was each crown.

"Peter, I want a sword!" Lucy announced as she mounted her horse. All she had was a dagger in a sheath on her belt. Peter helped Karen onto her horse, and got onto his own.

"We'll see back at Cair Paravel. I'll talk to Aslan about it too. You remember what Father Christmas said about battles," Peter replied. Lucy pouted as she nudged her horse to gallop off into the woods. Everyone else ran ahead too.

Karen struggled some with handling her hose, so Peter stayed with her. Edmund, Susan, and Lucy were waiting for them on the top of a hill by the Camp site. The field looked so familiar to them, the same it had when they had first arrived so long ago.

"Peter!" yelled Edmund. "Hurry up! You should see this." Peter and Karen came to a stop on either side of Edmund. Down below was a huge camp. In the center, a faun and a centaur were fighting.

"It's Mr. Tumnus! Somebody do something, please!" Lucy cried. Peter and Edmund looked at each other. They then raced down the hill to save their close friend.

Meanwhile, Mr. Tumnus, and the centaur, Crono, were fighting. Crono doubted that Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy would ever return to Narnia, and that he should become King. Crono was about to run Mr. Tumnus through with one of his swords, when Peter and Edmund came rushing down the hill. Peter took out his sword as he jumped off his horse. He bent down, blocking the blow meant for the faun. Edmund swung down his own sword, knocking on of the swords out of Crono's hand. In fear, Crono reeled back. One of his hooves hit Peter full-on in the face, sending the young King flying backwards. When Peter landed on his back, he didn't get up.

"Peter!" Susan and Lucy exclaimed as the three girls rushed to Peter's side. Crono couldn't believe what he had just done.

Susan, Lucy, and Karen rushed to help Peter while Edmund kept an eye on Crono. Susan lifted Peter's head, and carefully removed his crown. It was then that she saw that he had hit his head on a rock.

Crono took a stop forward, and said, "I didn't mean to. I swear, I didn't mean to." In a flash, Susan had stood up, and had an arrow aimed at the centaur.

"Do you know that you have been committing a crime?" she demanded. Her eyes were cold, and her stare was deadly.

"A crime, Your Highness? I was not aware of that, or else I would have stopped, milady," Crono said, bowing. Susan's expression changed to a look of disgust.

"Your chivalry won't save you now. You have committed treason. Treason against the four thrones of Cair Paravel! _You_ are not a King of Narnia!"

"Where does your allegiance lie?" Edmund demanded. "With Aslan, or with those who still believe that the White Witch is alive, even though I _saw_ her died?"

"I am with you, my liege. I was only acting in the best interest of Narnia," stammered Crono.

"The best interest of Narnia is making yourself King even though there are the four of us _and_ Aslan to rule?" Susan paused to shake her head and roll her eyes. "Just get him out of here," she said with a sigh.

Lucy was frantically looking for the phial Father Christmas had given her when Susan, Edmund, Karen, and Mr. Tumnus joined her by Peter's side.

"I can't find the potion from Father Christmas!" she exclaimed.

"Lucy, Aslan will be here soon," Mr. Tumnus said in a soothing voice. "He'll know what to do. But for right now, you should get Peter inside a tent." Edmund swung one of Peter's limp arms over his shoulder, while Mr. Tumnus did the same with the other arm. The crowd parted as they took Peter to an empty tent.

The rest of the crowd bowed in respect for the Queens. Susan, Lucy, and Karen looked around. The two sisters had forgotten about how much respect they were given by the occupants of Narnia.

"Citizens of Narnia!" Susan announced. "I would like to introduce you to my dearest and best friend, Karen! She will be with us while we are here."

"Long live Lady Karen!" the crowd cheered, followed by a bow. Karen looked around in awe. There, bowing before her was a menagerie of creatures she didn't even know existed! To her, these creatures had been a myth, and now they were bowing before her.

"Come on, Lucy," Susan said. "Let's go change into more comfortable dresses, and then see Peter."

On the far side of the Camp were two large tents, and a smaller one. You could see the silhouette of Edmund sitting next to Peter's hammock in the smaller one. Inside one of the larger tents were three hammocks, and three trunks. Susan went over to one of the trunks, and inside were red gowns.

"I've found my trunk," said Susan as Lucy opened up another one. Inside that one were rich blue gowns.

"Karen, that trunk must be for you then," Lucy said. The sisters began to shuffle through the selection of gowns to find the one that they liked.

"How can you tell my gowns from Susan's?" Karen asked as she looked at the beautiful gowns that had been provided for her.

"When we were crowned," Susan began as she started to change into a red gown with a gold cord trim. "We were each given a name. To the Glistening Eastern Sea, there is Lucy the Valiant, so her gowns are primarily dark blue. To the Radiant Southern Sun, there is me, Susan the Gentle, so my gowns are mostly red. _Your_ gowns, are all different colors, that's how we can tell my gowns from yours." In the bottom of Lucy's trunk, she found a selection of blue ribbons.

"Oh, Susan! Could you put some of these in my hair?" she asked.

"Quickly. We have to go see Peter, and I want to find out when Aslan is going to arrive," replied Susan. She then pulled back Lucy's hair, and braided ribbons into it.

Outside, the Camp was in complete turmoil. People were trying to get the Camp ready for Aslan's arrival. When Susan, Lucy, and Karen got back outside, Oreius the Centaur came galloping up to them.

"Your Highnesses," he said with a bow. "I have been sent here by Aslan. When he heard about Peter, he rushed immediately to Cair Paravel where Crono is being held. He said that he'll be here sometime tomorrow, but isn't sure exactly when. I'll be staying here with you until Aslan returns."

"Thank you Oreius. I want to be told the _second_ Aslan arrives; I don't care if he comes in the middle of the night. I want to know," Susan said. Oreius bowed again.

"Yes, milady," he said, and he galloped away.

"Who was that?" Karen asked as the three girls made their way to the tent where Peter and Edmund were.

"That's Oreius. He's Aslan's advisor, and the Captain of the Guard in Narnia," replied Lucy.

Inside Peter's tent, Peter was lying on a hammock. Next to him were Edmund and Mr. Tumnus. Peter was a mess. He had a black eye, a fat lip, and it looked like his nose was broken. Someone had wrapped a white bandage around his head.

"Ed, why don't you go and change into something more comfortable?" suggested Susan. Edmund stood up.

"I'm fine right now," he replied.

Mr. Tumnus said, "That crown of his probably saved your brother's life. He hit his head on a rock when he was hit by Crono." A tear slid down Lucy's face. Mr. Tumnus gave her a comforting hug.

"He'll be alright, Lucy. You'll see," he said quietly.

"So if Peter hadn't worn his crown, he'd probably be dead right now?" Susan asked in shock.

"I knew that there was a reason as to _why_ the crowns are so heavy," Edmund said. He then left before Susan could reprimand him for his comment.

All afternoon, Susan, Edmund, Lucy, and Mr. Tumnus were running around the Camp, preparing it for Aslan. This left Karen alone with Peter for extended periods of time. She gently brushed his sandy hair out of his eyes, and looked at his kind, yet strong face.

"Peter the Magnificent, ruler of the Clear Northern Skies," Edmund said from behind Karen, causing her to jump.

"Edmund! You startled me!" she exclaimed.

Edmund sat on a cushion, and said, "I'm sorry." He was wearing a rich green shirt under a plain, brown leather doublet, and brown pants. He also had his sword on his belt. "Do you mind if I ask you a rather personal question?"

"Depends on the question."

"Do you like Peter? I mean, as more than just a friend?" Karen laughed.

"I never realized how outgoing you were," she said. "But if you promise not to tell anyone, yes. I do like Peter as more than just a friend. Why do you ask?"

"I had a feeling about it. I saw the way you look at Peter when his back is turned. He gives you the same looks when your not looking too." Karen blushed.

"Peter the Magnificent," she muttered. She then laughed bitterly. "He doesn't look so Magnificent to me right now, but that doesn't matter."

"Peter's an amazing King _and_ brother. He's always been sweet to Lucy. He took Dad's place during the war back home. Here in Narnia, he safely brought Susan and Lucy to Aslan's camp, and fought nobly in the battle."

"You all fought in the battle though."  
Edmund shrugged. "Still," he said, and he left.

About an hour after Edmund left, Peter woke up. He slowly stirred, and his eyes fluttered open. Groaning, he sat up. Beside him, Lucy was sharpening her dagger.

"Peter!" she cried out, throwing her arms around his neck.

"Lucy, what happened? Where's everyone else?" Peter asked his sister. Lucy noticed that his voice was raspier than and not as strong as it had been before.

"You were hit in the face by that centaur, and when you went flying backwards, you hit your head on a rock."

"That would explain my splitting headache." Suddenly, Susan came flying into the room, her ebony hair flying behind her.

"Oh, Peter!" she exclaimed. "I'm so glad that you're alright! Aslan's coming tomorrow to make sure that you're better."

"Susan! You're going to smother him!" Edmund said from the entrance to the tent. Susan immediately backed away, muttering her apologies.

"How long have I been unconscious?" Peter asked with a sigh.

"All afternoon. Everyone's worried about you. You were hit pretty hard," Lucy informed him.

"What time is it?"

Edmund replied, "Early evening. There's a _huge _celebration planned for tonight right after the sun goes down. We were worried that you wouldn't be able to come." Peter began to climb out of the hammock.

"I'll be able to," he said. He then stopped and looked around. "Where's Karen?"  
"She's outside looking around. I don't think she's gotten used to talking animals and mystical creatures quite yet," Susan said. Everyone laughed.

Slowly, the sun sank low in the clear Narnia sky. Karen stood at the outer edge of the camp looking at the horizon. There, at the edge of a cliff next to the vast Eastern Sea was a beautiful tan castle.

"That there is Cair Paravel, and the four thrones of Narnia," said a male voice. Karen spun around, and there was Peter!

"Oh, you're alright!" she cried out, giving him a hug. Peter smiled, and returned the hug.

"It's good to see you too," he said.

"I was so worried about you. We all were."

"I'm going to make it up to you."

"You don't have to make it up to me. All that matters is that you're better again."

"No, I'm going to give you the Grand Tour of Narnia. Trust me, you'll like it. I ruled over this country for 25 years."

"Wait, 25 years! How old are you?" Peter looked at Cair Paravel.

"I'm 19. Time is different in Narnia. We could stay here for 100 years, and when we get back to our world, I'd be 19 again. Not a second will have passed when we get back."

That night, there was a grand celebration. There was a huge bonfire burning in the center of the Camp, and music being played by some of the fauns. Everyone danced around the fire until they couldn't dance anymore. Peter, Susan, Edmund, Lucy, and Karen all sat down by the fire; it was around midnight.

"Your Highnesses," a faun said with a bow. "And Lady Karen. For the last song tonight, we have a special piece we have all worked hard on." With another bow, all the fauns began to play. The sweet music floated through the air.

"Karen, look at the fire," Peter said, pointing. Confused, Karen looked into the flames. There was an image! It was Lucy and Susan walking on one side of Aslan, and Peter and Edmund on the other. The four young rulers stood before their thrones, and slowly turned around. As the song continued, Karen saw each of her friends crowned. The music began to die. When it sounded like the fauns were done playing, a large lion's head appeared in the flames, letting out a deafening roar. This caused Karen to jump. Peter laugh at her, so she sent him a deadly look.

Some creatures stayed behind to make sure that the fire was out, while everyone else went to bed. Peter slowly walked Karen to her tent.

"I'll come and get you tomorrow to start you tour," Peter said. Karen smiled.

"What time? Maybe I could meet you somewhere around the Camp, so you don't have to try and find me," she suggested. Peter shook his head no.

"Don't worry about meeting up. I'll come and find you." Peter had a sly look on his face.

"You're keeping something from me, Peter Pevensie, and I don't like it. Trust me, I intend on finding out what it is." Without another word, Karen went inside her tent.

Karen found her hammock incredibly comfortable. Susan and Lucy had just climbed into bed without changing, so Karen did that too. The silk blankets kept her warm in the cool Narnia night. Karen soon found herself drifting off to a deep, relaxing sleep.

Suddenly, a firm hand shook Karen awake. When she tried to make a sound, the hand covered her mouth. As Karen's eyes adjusted to the limited amount of light, she saw that Peter had woken her up. He held one finger to his lips, and motioned for her to follow him. Outside, Karen could see that it was just before duck. Peter stopped outside his tent, and motioned for her to wait outside. He returned a few minutes later, fastening his sword around his waist.

Peter then led Karen out away form the Camp and up a hill into the woods. The two walked in silence until they were sure that they were far enough away from the Camp that no one would hear them.

"Peter, where are we going?" Karen asked. It sounded like she was slightly out of breath. Peter turned around, and grabbed her hand.

"Come on, we're almost there! Just another few minutes," he replied. He then pulled Karen up the hill, forcing her to run in order to keep up with him.

Peter and Karen stopped at the top of the hill. There, was the Stone Table. Peter led Karen across the table. She couldn't believe the view! Narnia stretched before her. She felt so small looking around. She could see the sun painting magnificent colors in the sky.

"Oh, Peter!" she breathed. "It's amazing. This place is beautiful." Peter was leaning casually against an upright stone slab with his arms crossed across his chest.

"So are you," he said. Karen spun around and smiled.

"What did you say?" Realizing what he had said, Peter looked at his feet. Karen walked over to him, and grabbed his shoulders. She noticed that his lip wasn't as swollen, but his eye looked a little worse today. She looked deep into his eyes.

"What did you say, Peter?" Instead of saying anything, Peter kissed Karen. She was surprised at first, but soon began to kiss him back. His hands slid down to her waist, and pulled her closer, as Karen wrapped her arms around Peter's neck. Peter pulled away first.

"Wow," he said. "I didn't know you felt that way about me. I thought that you would slap me or something." Karen just shook her head. She then closed her eyes, and rested her head on his chest. Peter noticed that she was shivering. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing. I'm just a little cold."

Peter began to unfasten his cloak, and said, "Here, take this."

"Thank you," she whispered as he wrapped his gold colored cloak around her shoulders. The couple completely lost track of time as they stood in each other's arms, and watched the sunrise.

"We should probably get back to Camp," Peter said. "Just so people won't worry about where we are."

"_Does_ anyone know we're here? Did we just sneak out?"

"Well, we technically _did_ sneak out, but Edmund and my sisters know that we're here. I told them yesterday. We really should go though. Aslan's coming today." Karen slipped her hand into Peter's, and they walked back to Camp.

Peter and Karen chatted as they walked back to Camp. He gently brushed a strand of her auburn hair out of her face at one point too.

"Peter, may I ask you a question?" Karen asked.

"Sure," he replied.

"Why did you bring your sword?  
"It's just a habit. When I left Narnia, it was weird not to have a crown on my head, a sword on my belt, and have every living creature I pass bow down to me." They walked in silence for a few minutes. Suddenly, the sound of a horn blowing from Camp drew their attention. Both Karen and Peter stopped walking.

"What was that?" Karen asked as she took off Peter's cloak. The sun had warmed her up more.

"Aslan. Aslan must be here," Peter said as he took Karen's hand, and began to run. "Come on!"

Susan was getting dressed when she heard the horn. She pulled on her bow and quiver, and ran outside. She saw Peter and Karen running out of the forest holding hands. She hoped everything worked out between them. Susan's attention was drawn to Aslan, who was walking across Camp. The lion looked larger than the last time she had seen him. Aslan stopped in front of Susan, and she kneeled before him.

"Aslan," she said. "It's great to see you."

"It's good to see you too, Susan. Tell me, where is Peter? How is he doing?" Aslan asked. As if on cue, Peter and Karen came running up to them. Peter kneeled, and Karen followed his example. "Peter, I'm glad you're alright. The centaur, Crono is locked up safely at Cair Paravel. We are now investigating the rumors of a rebellion by those who were loyal to the White Witch and escaped our grasp, but don't worry about that." All of a sudden, Lucy and Edmund came running up the hill from the creek.

"Aslan! Aslan!" Lucy cried out. Aslan chuckled as Lucy threw her arms around his neck.

"It's good to see you too, Lucy. What do you five have planned for today? It seems like you've been pretty busy already."

"We're going to show Karen around Narnia, and then go to Cair Paravel this afternoon. Nothing big is really planned. Just across the battlefield, and over to visit the Beavers. It'll be a quick trip," Peter replied. Aslan nodded.

"Good, good. Sounds like a fun day. I'll be meeting you at Cair Paravel this evening," he said.

An hour later, Peter, Susan, Edmund, Lucy, and Karen got ready to leave. Peter helped Karen onto her gray horse before getting onto his unicorn. Susan and Edmund were talking in hushed voices off to the side.

"Peter! I can't on my horse. Could you help me?" Lucy asked. When her horse heard this, it knelt down, so Lucy could get on it's back.

"Sorry, Your Highness," it said.

As the horse stood up, Lucy said, "It's okay." All five people thundered out of the Camp towards the Battle Field. They waded across a shallow part of the Great River, and came to the Battle Field.

Everyone slowed their horses to a steady trot. Karen looked around, taking it all in. She was at a lush field, and at the far side was a large rock formation.

"This place is amazing," she breathed.

"Come one! We'll show you around," Lucy said. They rode across the field, pointing to different locations on the way. They rode up to the top of the cliff, and looked across the field. Nobody said anything. The silence was relaxing; different from the busy Camp.

"We should get going," Peter said at last. "We have to get to the Beaver's dam soon."

They sped through the forest to the Beaver's dam. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, lighting the path.

"We should surprise the Beavers, and make it sound like we're the secret police or something," Edmund suggested to Susan as they neared the dam.

"No! Poor Mrs. Beaver would probably have a heart attack, and kill Mr. Beaver!" exclaimed Susan.

"Aw, come on, Susan!"

"No!" Lucy rode up ahead, while Susan kept Edmund from scaring their friends. Lucy jumped off her horse, and walked towards the dam.

"Hello!" she called out. "Beavers? Is anyone home?"

Meanwhile, the Beavers were about to eat lunch when they head hoof beats outside of their dam.

"Are those hoof beats?" Mr. Beaver asked.

"Those can't be centaurs, they don't come into the forest, and the only people who ride horses are-" Mrs. Beaver stopped talking. They could hear Lucy calling them. They rushed out of the dam to see their friends.

"Oh my! We had no idea that you were here!" Mrs. Beaver exclaimed as she and Mr. Beaver rushed to meet their guests. Lucy gave each of them a huge hug.

"We just arrived yesterday. We didn't plan it or anything," Lucy said.

"Well, it's good to see you all," Mrs. Beaver said. It was then that the Beavers saw Karen, and caught sight of Peter's black eye. "Oh, you have a guest. Well, Peter! What did you do to your eye?" Peter blushed slightly as he took Karen's hand as she jumped off the horse's back.

"Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, this is our friend, Karen. Oh, and about my eye; I got hit in the face by a centaur yesterday. It's nothing, really," replied Peter.

"Looks like you put up a good fight," Mr. Beaver said, earning him a dirty look from his wife.

"Where are our manners?" Mrs. Beaver asked. "Come in, come in. You're just in time for some lunch." The Beavers then led everybody inside.

"Mrs. Beaver, we're just making a quick stop. We have to be at Cair Paravel this afternoon. We just wanted to visit," Susan said.

"Are you sure that you're not hungry? Thirsty?" asked Mrs. Beaver. The dam seemed smaller with so many people crammed inside of it.

Mr. Beaver turned to Karen, and asked, "So what do you think of Narnia?"  
"I really like it. It's absolutely gorgeous and peaceful here," Karen replied.

"It wasn't so peaceful 30 years ago. The White Witch had a _powerful_ grip over Narnia. When your friends arrived, things began to get better. Now, Narnia is a wonderful world once again. You have some amazing friends, Lady Karen. Some pretty amazing friends."

The environment in the dam was bright and cheerful as the young rulers and their friends chatted for a few hours. It was Susan who realized how much time had passed, and said that they should get going.

"Do you need anything for the journey? Food? Drinks?" Mrs. Beaver asked. The four rulers smiled; typical Mrs. Beaver.

"No, I think we're fine. You both _must_ come and visit us at Cair Paravel as soon as you get the chance," Lucy said to the Beavers as she mounted her horse.

"Of course, Your Highness. We'll come as soon as you all get settled in. We'll see you then!" Mr. Beaver called out as they left.

Peter and Karen raced through the forest to see who could reach a chosen tree first. Karen's horse pounded ahead of Peter, rounded the tree, and came to a halt.

"Victory! I've won!" she cried, throwing her arms in the air.

"Peter, I hope you didn't let her win!" Lucy exclaimed. "You don't even let me win when we race!" Peter stopped his unicorn, and leaned towards Karen like he was going to tell her something, but instead kissed her lightly.

"Ha! I win!" Susan said to Edmund.

"Do you guys know how mean you two are? Betting on the relationship between your older brother and your best friend; you're horrible!" said Lucy.

"Susan, how did you know that they'd kiss within the next week? Just luck?" Edmund asked his older sister.

"Just my woman's intuition I guess," she replied. The siblings then rode off to Cair Paravel, and their home.

The End!


End file.
